Hopewell commissioner convalescing after kidney transplant

Vice President Rich Bufalini could not attend the meeting after undergoing a kidney transplant last week at Pittsburgh's Montefiore Hospital.

"He's back home and doing well," President Norm Kraus Jr. said. "We're all thrilled this happened for him."

Bufalini had been going to dialysis treatment for kidney failure and had been on a transplant waiting list for nearly two years until last month.

"You can see where it was really beating him up," Kraus said. "He was having more bad days than good days."

Bufalini's daughter-in-law, Molly, stepped forward as a possible donor, and the results came back as a match. Bufalini hinted at the possibility of a transplant during the last business meeting, but didn't want to get too excited.

"He whispered to all of us, 'I might have a donor. I'm not really sure.' Next thing we know, the next week he's getting it," Kraus said. "It shows how highly she thinks of her father-in-law."

Since coming back home Thursday, Bufalini has not experienced any complications, and didn't attend the open-and-shut commissioners meeting per doctors orders because there is still a high chance of infection.

Bufalini has been a mainstay in the Hopewell community as a council member, serving as president in 2010-11 before switching roles with Kraus in 2012.

"He's a big part of what we do here," Kraus said. "He's here at all the meetings."

There is no timetable for Bufalini to return, but Manager Andy Brunette talked to him over the phone Monday morning and said he was doing well and "feeling better than he has in a while." Bufalini will be back in the vice president's chair next year as he's running unopposed during re-election.